Omar Khayyam (412) “Don’t waste a minute of your life”

Juan Cole 07/13/2012

Don’t give your body over to
lamenting cruel destiny;
Don’t dedicate your soul to grief
at recollections of the dead.
Don’t throw away your heart save on
the locks of your beloved’s hair.
Keep a full wine glass in your hand–
don’t waste a minute of your life.

Translated by Juan Cole
from Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat, [pdf] Whinfield 412/ Arberry 1949

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires. Follow him at @jricole.